Grand Theft Auto Grieving Thread - Yep, I've been drinkin' again...

[The Last Stand]

The band hates that song. I guess I would, too, after playing it for 40 years.

I can't blame them. But as of now, it's so catchy.

 

[Snekposter]

That's not the best song in VC. Best song is 99 Luftbalons. Shithead teenage me thought a peace song was the best time to go on a rampage and rack up as many stars as I could before inevitably dying. Gotta make that nuclear war happen after all.

 

[X Pac Heat]

Best Song is Summer Madness.

Fight Me.

Edit: Any of you guys ever actually visit the original official vice city website? I guess it's rehosted here. It's pretty interesting and has a lot of background info I think people don't even know about. Sucks the sounds eems to be gone, it used to play Summer Madness when it loaded. I also think the intro was different based on time of day.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Grand Theft Auto Vice City Flash website recreated in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.

classicgtasites.com

 

[Captain Syrup]

That's not the best song in VC. Best song is 99 Luftbaloons.

Everyone's a superhero, everyone's a Captain Kirk

 

[The Last Stand]

That's not the best song in VC. Best song is 99 Luftbalons. Shithead teenage me thought a peace song was the best time to go on a rampage and rack up as many stars as I could before inevitably dying. Gotta make that nuclear war happen after all.

Fun fact: 99 red balloons are used as collectibles in Vice City Stories.

Best Song is Summer Madness.


Fight Me.

Another classic instrumental. That thumbnail used to be my startup background. So peaceful and colorful.

Fits the atmosphere of a calm day in a summer climate.

 

[Anachronistic]

Vice City Stories also has a pretty good trailer for such an underappreciated game.

 

[The Last Stand]

Vice City Stories also has a pretty good trailer for such an underappreciated game.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=iP7fIzDH6nY

Foreigner. Great pick. From that trailer, VCS is a family crime drama with love, suspense and betrayal. Trouble in paradise.

I like the direction the story went with family being Vic's driving force of what he's doing throughout the game. The conflict with Vic's serious demeanor and Lance's tomfoolery sets the stage well of Vice's seedy, criminal underworld.

It's a challenging game as well. VCS just throws stuff at you during the latter half. I recall the helicopter magnet mission, the escort mission with Umberto's dad and the antenna mission.

The tone of Vice City has changed from VC to VCS. I can't quite describe it, but VCS' world feels lesser.

 

[Anachronistic]

It's a challenging game as well. VCS just throws stuff at you during the latter half. I recall the helicopter magnet mission, the escort mission with Umberto's dad and the antenna mission.

I found the antenna mission to be somewhat easy after figuring out a decent enough route, especially since the police helicopter at the first station cuts down on the time by quite a bit. Although, the FBI at the end of the mission will always be a bitch. It was fun watching DSP fail at it for over a hour though back in the day however.

 

[CWCissey]

I always thought the worst mission in VCS was the one where you have to chase Lance on the motorbike.

The controls were actively against you.

 

[Captain Syrup]

I always thought the worst mission in VCS was the one where you have to chase Lance on the motorbike. The controls were actively against you.

I had to restart it more than once.

The tone of Vice City has changed from VC to VCS. I can't quite describe it, but VCS' world feels lesser.

Donald Love ate Retard Flakes for breakfast in LCS.

 

[cummytummies]

Vice City was a masterpiece, Vice City Stories was "now you can play Vice City on the go".

Think of it as a portable spin-off to the main series like we've had ever since the Game Boy era. Because that's what it is. I've never played the PS2 port, would probably lose a lot of its charm with the main gimmick removed. Like playing Game Boy Advance games through the GameCube peripheral.

 

[The Last Stand]

I always thought the worst mission in VCS was the one where you have to chase Lance on the motorbike.

The controls were actively against you.

You're not CHASING him, you're ESCORTING him. All the more harder when he just drives with no regard for your or his safety. The enemies have decent accuracy and numbers during the chase. That mission highlights Lance's selfishness during the whole game.

I can't even call Vic a straight man, since he's a) gullible enough to trust Martinez and b) lets Lance guilt-trip him, resulting in steep debts.

Remember that Martinez was Vic's superior. The beginning of Vice City makes the whole plot of Vice City Stories redundant. R* confirms that Vic dies at the beginning from a botched drug deal. Yet, during the entirely of VCS, Vic shows detain for even dealing with drugs. Even at the end of VCS, Vic rejects Lance's 20 kilo drug deal. Vic was basically a useless recton. Shame, because he's a great character in his own regard.

 

[CWCissey]

You're not CHASING him, you're ESCORTING him.

Could have fooled me!

 

[Milwaukee Macho Man]

R* confirms that Vic dies at the beginning from a botched drug deal. Yet, during the entirely of VCS, Vic shows detain for even dealing with drugs. Even at the end of VCS, Vic rejects Lance's 20 kilo drug deal. Vic was basically a useless recton. Shame, because he's a great character in his own regard.

The funniest thing was how many people kept claiming that Victor at the start of Vice City was really the unseen brother they kept talking about. (Pete?) because they "never say his name" in Vice City.

But on the Vice City website from 2002, the Crime Tree specifically has his name as Victor Vance lol.

 

[The Last Stand]

I can describe it just fine. Donald Love ate Retard Flakes for breakfast in LCS. Now everyone is a lobotomy patient.

Liberty City Stories was "darker" than III, yet more wacky at the same time. Look at Toni Cipirani. A murderous, impatient, dry mobster who would do anything to regain favor for Salvatore (and his mother.) The dark themes with LCS came with government corruption with the mob and the dangers of the Internet as a background trope. Toni's treks through Liberty City is actually inspired from The Sopranos. (I should see that show.)

The wacky parts comes with Toni's quest givers and '98 Liberty City. As you said, many people that Toni interacts with are bumbling, selfish, eccentric people that Toni would not hesitant to kill if given the chance. And he HAS. The world itself, despise being a crime ridden city, does not take itself seriously if you listen. There are innuendos, double entrendes and non-sequiturs on the radio and pedestrians.

The juxtapositions of the writing and world building absurdly clash together. Yet, it works in the game's favor. Here's one example: I am tasked to kill some rival mobsters trying to take over Liberty. On the way, I, as Toni Cipiriani, am listening to 90s pop music (Head Radio). I hit a vehicle, ped yells out something about a cheese deluxe. I pause to laugh and proceed to the mission.

Remember my piece on video games, interactivity and world building? Games can be mature AND fun without sacrificing depth in either regard. LCS recognizes it's a game. The side activities in the world reinforces that mentality. You can enjoy its mature, biting story threads and have fun doing it.

Liberty City Stories is my top 3 favorite GTA games for that reason. Liberty City feels new again.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Off topic, but I think I know a popular New Age rapper from California that needs to be on the radio stations for GTA VI:

Spoiler: Context

The real life joke is that this guy recorded his verses on phone to an already produced song while still in jail. Pretty funny how rappers don’t do this type of stuff anymore.

 

[Anachronistic]

Anybody else attempt to explore the mountainous area in GTA 3 back in the day and be disappointed when you hit an invisible wall? I found that kind of teasing as a kid to have that large landmass north of Liberty City teasing you throughout 3/4ths of the story but upon getting to Shoreside Vale you realize you can't really explore it.

 

[Captain Syrup]

Anybody else attempt to explore the mountainous area in GTA 3 back in the day and be disappointed when you hit an invisible wall?

IIRC, a series of pipes encircle the islands, blocking your boat. It's been a while, but I think you can see the subway just under the water, too. An actual tunnel running across the riverbed.

I do miss those mountains, tbh. Downtown Vice City looks janky: it's an island with no waterfront property. The buildings are clumsily placed to hide the coastline.

Spoiler: Little Haiti

 

[The Last Stand]

Anybody else attempt to explore the mountainous area in GTA 3 back in the day and be disappointed when you hit an invisible wall? I found that kind of teasing as a kid to have that large landmass north of Liberty City teasing you throughout 3/4ths of the story but upon getting to Shoreside Vale you realize you can't really explore it.

I didn't even know of the Dodo exploit in III. I was confused of why I couldn't fly it.

 

[Captain Syrup]

I didn't even know of the Dodo exploit in III. I was confused of why I couldn't fly it.

You can jack a helicopter in LCS and fly it around. (They aren't meant to be piloted by players, and some buildings aren't supposed to be viewed from the air, as they lack rooftops.)

There are a few methods. I did it the hard way: driving an ambulance on top of the museum during a mission. Took me an hour or so to get it right. Then I stashed it in a garage, which was a chore in of itself.

I never mastered the Dodo, either. Still, it's the quickest way to travel: if you go watch speedruns, as soon as Shoresale Vale opens up, Claude is seen terrorizing the streets in a plane. (And 'landing' in places he shouldn't.)